Women at work

4:35 p.m. Today's project was to allow a godly young woman to bless me by preparing our home for her birthday party on Saturday!

Sound confusing? Michelle turned 26 last week, and really wanted to host a fellowship time for friends and family, but didn't have the space. Heidi offered our home after clearing it with me, and the fun began. Michelle and her sister-in-law Joanna attend the home Bible study I teach on Thursday mornings, and I have no concerns whatsoever that all facets of this gathering will be done "decently and in order," as the Apostle Paul adjured the believers in Corinth about their church gatherings in I Corinthians 14:40! And the party will definitely be a koinonia, centered around Christ, complete with worship.

Loving to entertain, and thoroughly excited by festive gatherings, I was willing to get the downstairs cleaned with Steve and Heidi's help, no big deal because I clean all the time (surface cleaning, anyway)! Imagine my surprise when Heidi told me that Michelle was going to come over the day before the party and clean house for me!! At first it seemed unusual, and my daughter and her fiance thought it might be a slight insult, but it was nothing of the sort, because Michelle had never even been to my house before. "I just want to bless and thank you," she told us at Bible study yesterday. No sense in being touchy, because we all need help from other believers, as the Lord showed us yesterday in our prayer request time, even if we don't realize it! We not only should exemplify "purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness and sincere love by the Holy Spirit," (2 Corinthians 6:6 paraphrased) but we need to allow others to do the same for us!

I set out nice soft rags and products for polishing furniture and glass in the living room and family room, and cleansers for the downstairs bathroom, because those are the only jobs I could see needing done. We'll have to mop and vacuum tomorrow as we would before any gathering. Since Michelle arrived about 1:45 p.m., I had time to take a brief nap after the hairdresser's and then go down to Altura Credit Union to re-do a shared branching deposit. Because of her help, I was free to spend time watering the garden, planting corn and green beans, and harvesting tomatoes and tomatillos. I also finished pressure cooking some chicken for salads next week. As we worked, we had much time for heart-to-heart sharing, so our afternoon flew by.

Michelle's mom is a super cook, so she will be serving: broccoli chicken rice; fettucine alfredo; spaghetti and meatballs; stuffed potatoes and caesar salad with homemade dressing, and I've probably left something out! I'll throw in Jello and Cool Whip for those who are too stuffed to eat cakes and other huge desserts. We also have tons of drinks left over from the colonoscopies Steve and I had scheduled, and we were supposed to consume pre-op. (He had his procedure; I'm putting mine off until fall when I have no huge obligations, The reason? I was sick for five days after the one I had 5 years ago. Actually, when I saw those huge needles in the backs of his hands, I thought "Nah!").

Heidi got home and helped put pictures back on the entertainment center, Michelle put the pictures back on the piano, and Pavel arrived. The three of them are having a funny and relaxed conversation in the living room.

Tomorrow, Michelle will be here with cold foods and salads to refrigerate, extra chairs and a table, and to put up some balloons and other birthday decorations. Heidi and I both said, "not til 10:00 please!" because we do our entire morning on Saturdays in our pajamas, or what passes for pajamas. Devotions, breakfast, then comes getting ready for the day!!

There's nothing sweeter than fellowship, so tomorrow will be a reward from the Lord for the three of us "working women!"